Women In The Great Gatsby

Renaissance age is also considered as the age of rebirth of women which made new discoveries to improve their poor condition. Marrying and taking care of their children and household was their main job or duty. If they had no male relative then they were forced to become nuns for the rest of their lives. There was no class difference, women of all the classes were expected to do all kinds of jobs. Some women were told to help their husbands in running their business as well.

The Roaring Twenties was a prime era for women. Because of the toils of many strong women, ideals were flipped on their head, to America’s benefit. In the late 1800’s, two women, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, quickly realized that women would not be able to share their political views unless given the right to vote. Because of the fact that women had basically no other societal roles besides housework, they were not respected during this time period. So the two women teamed up and spent the rest of their lives fighting for the women’s suffrage movement.

Fitzgerald showcased the change in women's roles in the 1920’s through the styles and the traits of Daisy, Jordan, and Myrtle by their morals, class, and appearance. Back in the 1920’s everything was changing, especially women. We completely erased and rewrote the idea of women and their roles. Drinking and drugs, no morals, and new fasion trends were something an everyday lady did, had, and faced. The Great Gatsby,

Jane Addams is often refered to as a social and political pioneer. She seperated herself from what society belived a women should do and created many radical changes for that time period. Many of her fellow friends, characterized as going crazy and too hopeful. But in the years later to come, Jane Addams would redefine what a women can and should do. She once said, “Old-fashioned ways which no longer apply to changed conditions are a snare in which the feet of women have always become readily entangled” (JaneAddams).

In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie’s faults made her dependent emotionally towards men, but independent when finding her own happy ending throughout the book. From The Odyssey, Calypso desperately tried to find love and make Odysseus stay, but her flaws of attachment and having a higher level of authority over Odysseus in their relationship kept her from achieving real love with someone. Although Janie and Calypso are opposites when it comes to love, they do have similarities. Their relationships always ended the same way, with Janie leaving her husbands and Calypso being deserted by her lovers. They both tried to to find love, with some difficulties for each women individually.

Janie’s hair expresses the breaking the social standard barrier, by having her straight hair worn down which was seen shameful for a woman her age. This reflects her rebellious spirit and desire for independence. By her ignoring what is socially acceptable, she portrays as a modern woman now by being independent but desiring to have a family. Another way Janie’s hair is used as a symbol is showing her masculinity. By describing her hair in a masculine way, it implies the power she has desire.

She would not have made it as far towards New York if it was not for Peter saving and protecting her. The New Women turns out to be helpless and incapable all by herself. Only trough the help of benevolent men representing benevolent patriarchal systems Ellie is able to follow her dreams and fulfill her desires. Capra’s film presents the New Woman of the 1920s as a simply wrong concept which naively thinks of women as completely independent when in reality women are more than just dependent on men. Ellie’s crying out that she cannot be without Peter is more than just a phrase said when being in love.

Since women were not free they remained trapped and imposed to the roles that society had labeled and stereotyped them to be. Edna Pontellier was only seen as a “valuable piece of property which [had] suffered some damaged” to her husband Mr. Pontellier (BOOK). One can also see that “The Awakening” also focused on the sexual desires of women, identity, and self-discovery Edna, a character in “The Awakening” experienced her awakening by discovering her identity in her own self. “The Awakening” attempts to tell the story a woman who wants to find herself while lusting. Later, at the end of the story, one discovers that since Edna Pontellier could not fully find her peace, and freedom she ultimately decides to commit suicide.

Therefore, what followed was the right of women to vote; with this, the voice of women where now represented in public office changing forever the political life of the nation. This new independence marked a big step to social equality. The new-found freedom changed women’s attitudes to themselves, to men, marriage and to the family. The result of the change was liberating fashion in clothing and hairstyles. Before this, dress and hair were longer and modest.

In The Second Sex, Simone de Beauvoir writes that “from patriarchy’s earliest times [men] have deemed it useful to keep woman in a state of dependence” (193), and indeed, nowhere is this intent more evident than in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The Elizabethans were a deeply patriarchal society; women were expected to be meekly subordinate and as such were deprived of any legal independence or right to self-expression. Accordingly, the characters of Hamlet, most notably the titular character, often express extraordinarily misogynistic views. Logically, it would follow that Hamlet’s female characters—Gertrude and Ophelia—would be one-dimensional and submissive, serving only to further Hamlet’s story. However, in actuality, both women defy the traditional Elizabethan standard of femininity—Gertrude in her sexuality, and Ophelia in her madness—serving to create tension in the story and elicit unease in the audience.

The Fem-pire Strikes Back! The American society was shaken up by a revolution and a second great awakening from 1815 - 1860. These developments significantly affected women both inside and outside the home. Although they were still considered inferior to men, women gained new opportunities in the working profession as nurses, teachers, and domestic servants because of the proliferation. As a result of the Market Revolution and Second Great Awakening, they gained a new sense of independence in both society and family as they took up a separate realm at home.